Dandelion & Burdock
by StrangerEmotion
Summary: When William first met Elizabeth Summers, he could not have imagined everything that would come to follow in the space of a single year. AU, in which Buffy was born in 1863 in California, but by 1879 was sent to London by her family.
1. Chapter 1

**Dandelion & Burdock**

* * *

><p>An ordinary spring day with the ordinary company he was accustomed to saw William Pratt deeply engrossed in writing, his nose buried in his journal, when the most extraordinary thing happened upon him. He was all alone in the park next to his dormitory at Oxford, or so he thought. A nut fell on his head as he was leant against the tree and he looked up to meet wide green eyes in a very girlish face. A young woman was watching him write as she was clutching to a particularly sturdy limb. For a sliver of time all he could do was stare, and she back to him, but such quiet moments of revelation rarely last as long as you would wish them to, and on reflection you are ultimately glad they didn't.<p>

She swung down and dusted her pants off, he was equal parts intrigued and dismayed seeing such a natural beauty dressed like a common chimney sweep. "Didn't mean to pry," She spoke with a boyish tone, a farce, but for whose eyes he wasn't sure. "I 'spose I should be off before you start wailing about indecency to all and sundry."

She began traipsing off, the very picture of youthful enthusiasm before his voice cracked out, "Wait!" He stumbled over the next sentence, a mess of emotions fighting inside him. "I w-wouldn't do that. P-promise."

Her smile as she turned her head to look back at him nearly blinded him with it's luminosity. She walked back the few steps she took away from him, her hands fisted in her trousers, and settled down beside him with none of the grace he would expect from someone of her age and sex. But there was something about her that rose above such things, like a powerful bird of prey. "Buffy."

She held out her hand, it was smudged with dirt from climbing the tree. Eventually it dawned on him that she was introducing herself, quite improper for a lady to do. He stomached his ingrained reaction to withdraw from such forward behaviour and shook her hand. "William."

"Thanks for givin' me a chance. I know I must strike quite the unusual sight." She laughed, and a bit of her feminine side shone through. "And sorry about disturbing your studies."

"I w-wasn't-" He could barely say before she winked at him and his mouth ran too dry for speech.

"Disturbed? Or studying?" Her natural exuberance began to warm him up to her. She tossed a few fallens acorn between her hands with ease. She can juggle, he thought remotely, completely mystified. "You look just like my Watcher- I mean my guardian."

She blushed about her slip-up, although he didn't understand then why those words would cause that reaction.

He had no words, which only caused her to babble more. He didn't mind it so much. "Obviously much younger and less gross and icky with the age factor."

He blinked, not understanding her rough abuse of the English language. He began to notice her differing accent, not only was it not received pronunciation, it wasn't even English. "Where in the world do you come from?"

"California." She answered with a chipper smile, which soon dulled as she spoke the next bit of dialogue. "Which has far more sunshine than this stifling place."

"The States?" He spoke dumbly, though he was by no means dumb, just socially impaired most of the time. "Why did you move?"

She shrugged, her face darkening. "No choice of mine. I was all but orphaned and mother needed to return to her family here to help with my care. I live with her… and grandfather… not far from here. He would probably keel if he saw me dressed like this. But it's a secret, 'kay?"

William nodded, his eyes sparkling with sympathy, it was hardly manly of him to show he was moved, but he'd always been the sensitive one. "I, also, lost my father. Crimean War. He was posthumously awarded a lordship, and land, for his bravery. He had been a mere merchant before, if a considerably wealthy one. I never knew him. It's been only mother and me all these years."

Buffy listened intently, and didn't make fun of him for only barely belonging to society. Instead, she seemed rather impressed. "I guess I'd be a bit of a strain on your upward mobility. If we were to be friends."

His heart beat with longing at her last word; _friends_. He had no personal experience in that area, unfortunately. Naturally, he grabbed for it with all of his might. "Do you know how to ride? I go home in a matter of weeks and it would be my honor to extend you and yours an invitation."

"I can't accept," She spoke sadly, and all his hope dispersed like a dandelion in the wind. "Hey, don't look like that. It's beyond my control. I have to train- I mean… I'm going to a finishing school on command of my grandfather."

A spark of something ignited inside him. He began to consider coming back to Oxford in the fall with less dread than he usually felt. "I will see you here, until then?"

"Count on it." She smiled softly and leaned her capped head back into the bark of the tree, her eyes closing as a shaft of light caressed her face. There was a word for how bright she shined, but he couldn't quite recall it as he observed her.

By the end of spring he felt devastated to leave her. Even though he knew it was only a few short months. He didn't know what he would do with himself at home, without her. It was made all the worse when he returned to Oxford in the fall, only to find out that she wasn't coming to the park anymore. Not because she said anything, but because she simply never showed up, no matter how long he waited. It wouldn't be until the next spring, when he was finished at Oxford and was taking part in society gatherings, hoping to spot Cecily at them so he might invite her to dance, that he would see Buffy again. Only she was introduced as Elizabeth Anne Summers, the granddaughter of one of the most prestigious men in the country. And she had grown up since he last saw her. Though she was still rather small, she held herself like a woman, it was enough that he almost didn't recognize her.

She ignored him, even though he was sure she had seen him. At first he felt slighted, until he remembered they hadn't been formally introduced yet, so she couldn't very well go up to him as she had before. Eventually, he managed to get the host to introduce him to Elizabeth, though he couldn't say much before her company was demanded by every other warm blooded male in the hall.

"I'm pleased to meet you, William." She spoke with a slight twitch to her lip that suggested she found the entire situation incredibly funny, even if she couldn't react like she normally would have, if they were alone, by their tree.

He held back his upset that she could find it funny, when she hadn't kept her promise to him. He tried to reason with himself that it must not have been her decision. But it didn't seem to help when she couldn't explain it herself. "Likewise. You are lovely company, _Elizabeth_."

She blushed and her eyes darted away from him to her glowering grandfather. "I'm sorry," She whispered once she noticed the old man's gaze switch to something a servant was showing him. "About everything. I'll explain later… if you'll let me."

"Save a spot for me on your dance card, then." He spoke before being signalled to move along. He looked back at her with regret. He missed her openness, he even missed her ugly trousers. Seeing her so… normalized, made his heart ache.

But he never got that dance, because after all his pining for Cecily, she broke him into a thousand pieces that night, and he ran out into the street, papers slipping from his numb fingers. Buffy had left even earlier, with no explanation, and an unseen before steely glint to her eyes.

That was the night everything changed for him, he became a new man. Reborn, faster and stronger than ever before. He didn't need his poncy glasses anymore and he crushed them under his heel as he joined his dark goddess above ground. "Let's paint this town red, Luv."

"My sweet William, you'll blot the Sunshine out for me, won't you?" She spoke madly but he found it strangely endearing.

"I'll eat the bloody sun if it puts a smile on that wicked face." He nuzzled her, both of them ridged and predatory looking. "Let's start with my old chums, shall we? They gave me so many ideas tonight. William the Bloody's going to make them choke on their words."

After he worked his way through the so called elite, he felt much better. And he hadn't even ate them… much. He smelled something sweeter in the city, especially when he went back to the house where the party had been hosted that fateful night. Something effulgent, and somehow familiar. So he only nibbled on the rest like so many hors d'oeuvres. "You can almost taste her, can't you? Angelus wants her for himself… but he's being selfish." Drusilla pouted, her human visage in predominance making her seem completely harmless.

"Yeah. Now that you mention it. What is that? It's like concentrated power, and life." He inhaled, shifting into his demonic face with little provocation. He got hard just from the lingering remnants of it.

"She's close… but she can't open the presents until Christmas morning or Daddy will be very cross." She spoke lowly with a near growl to her usually flighty voice. Even her finger wagged for added effect.

"Angelus knows about who, or whatever this is?" William asked, just barely making sense of her words.

Dru smiled darkly, in full wicked glee. "The Slayer. One girl in all the world who has the strength and skill to be worthy of his art. She's like an oyster, William, tough on the outside, but my Angel will open her up wide and lap up all her beautiful pearls."

William couldn't help his reaction, he tackled his dark beauty in the mess of the parlor covered in blood he hadn't even spilled, which was a mystery he wasn't at all inclined to solve. Drusilla was only too happy to surrender to his primal urge.

After a failed attempt at saving his own mother, she came back wrong… all wrong… He finally met the rest of his new vampire family. The eldest, Darla, a blonde with a voice that would lure sailor's to their death. Her childe, Angelus, an imposing figure with a cruel smirk permanently on his face. Angelus had made Drucilla, made her the way she was… permanently innocent even as she bathes in blood. No real idea about her actions, about being evil. He would soon realize that as much as Drusilla would dote on her "sweet william", her heart lied with her "daddy".

It was after having his ass handed to him one night by Angelus, after he caught them in the act, that he left, bloody and beaten to rest somewhere else for the night, sick of it all. It was bloody unfair that she tease him with the prospect of having her forever, only to have her focus completely on her twisted sire. That and his plan to make the Slayer into an even bloodier masterpiece than Dru.

"William?" He heard someone he had never expected to be going down this alley, this late at night, gasp. "I thought you were-"

She stopped rushing towards him as he caught her scent and his eyes flashed golden, it was her. Buffy. Buffy was the Slayer. He didn't know life could be so cruel. "-dead?" He finished for her, blood dripping from his temple and over his eye. He blinked wearily at her as she just stood there. "Mostly there, pet. I'm guessing you wouldn't mind helping me along. Sacred destiny, I hear tell. Explains why you disappeared… left me."

Her eyes filled with tears but her face turned cold with anger. "You aren't him. You just have his memories… stole him from me."

He scoffed, blood coming from his lungs, and out of his mouth, he wiped it on his new commoner inspired clothes. "Like my new rags? I chose them because they reminded me of you… didn't want to hurt you… Have to know that… Knew I could never see you again, if you were to live… Turns out, that selfless act was good for fuck all. Gonna hunt you down, Slayer. They won't stop-"

He hissed as he pulled the bolt out of his shoulder. Way shy of his heart, but he got the message. "This isn't over, Slayer!" And he ran from her, ran from the only person he had ever considered a friend.

He kicked himself when he realized he hadn't warned her about what was to come, about who they'd turn her into… he was sure she was right to have stayed away from him. He was a piss poor friend.

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><p>Back in the relative safety of her room, Buffy slid down the door, tears now escaping from where she had shoved them down. She still couldn't believe her eyes. She couldn't tell her Watcher, of course, he wouldn't agree with her sparing William. She just couldn't kill him… not yet. She had stopped seeing him because she was worried that he would get hurt, that he would find out her secret and get in too deep. She knew he wouldn't have wanted her to fight all the evil out there alone. He was an idealist, though, and altogether unsuited for fighting what she had to fight every night. And even after she tried to distance herself from him, to keep him safe from the realities of her calling… he stumbled his idiotic self right into the arms of a vampire.<p>

Buffy shivered as she remembered his luminous eyes staring straight through her in the dirty alleyway. But she was even more shaken by the look in them, he hadn't changed at all in some ways. Even though his face had been that of a monster, she could only see William when he looked at her like that. She had to make him stop looking at her like nothing had changed, so she fired the crossbow. She was an excellent shot with the crossbow, she shouldn't have missed the heart. But she did because she still cared… she still saw something of William in him.

She told herself that the next time she saw him, she would do what she had to… she would end it. No matter how much she wished he was still the same, she knew by the bloody swath he'd left behind him, that he wasn't.

But when that time came, she hesitated. Mostly because he killed the vamp that almost had her by wrenching it's head off. "Buffy! Buffy! Are you okay, luv? I saw him getting the upper hand and-"

She punched him square in the nose from sheer frustration. "Quit trying to be him!"

He clutched his nose and looked at her with a less pleasant expression on his face. "I am him. He is me. That's what vampires are, luv. One part human, one part demon, shake well, and serve with a vengeance. But that's beside the point. There's something more important going down. I'm here to offer you a truce in exchange for information. I know of a plot against you, pet. And it's not pretty."

She glared back, but didn't move for her stake, she'd lost it in the earlier scuffle. "When is it ever? So, spill."

"My sire's sire has his eye on you… and he's a real piece of work, pet. Much stronger than that fledge that almost got a taste of you. He's got a history of making innocent girls into constant reminders of his greatest masterpieces. He thinks breaking a Slayer will be his legacy, a slayer turned vampire… Not much could be more dangerous." William felt himself get a bit excited at the idea himself, minus the creepy torture fetish angle. "I can't stop him alone, and neither can you."

"Didn't you get the memo? I'm meant to be alone-" She cried out to him.

"Bollocks!" He answered, and it wasn't William, but at the same time it was… under all the rough edges was a heart as soft as butter. "You don't have to follow the rules. You never have before."

And she broke down and hugged him, no longer caring he was a vampire. "I can't lose you… I thought I had… you have to promise me, you have to promise not to kill-"

He was cold, a corpse that could still walk, and talk, and feel. "I can't," He spoke reluctantly. "It's who I am. If I don't eat… I won't be able to help you against him."

She stiffened as she felt his lips on her neck, kissing her on her pulse point, but nothing else. "Me," She answered, the idea was stupid… but it might be stupid enough to work. "Take my blood. Don't kill."

He hesitated, his breath cool on her neck but she began to feel warm elsewhere. She blushed, embarrassed to be having a reaction to him. "Will… promise me."

He pulled back to look her in the eyes, his were as blue as they ever were, though they looked colder under the moonlight. "Buffy...I want to… but I don't know if I can, pet. It's not as easy as going on a meatless diet. It's the only thing that gives me life. I need too much of it...It would drain you if I only fed on you. Then we would be back to where we started."

She read the truth in his eyes, he really would give it up, if he could. "You could steal from the butchers. They probably have an excess of blood."

He looked away from her, but she kept her eyes glued on him. "I'll try. If it comes between me saving you though… I won't hesitate to choose you."

He'd never quite get it… she could see that now. As much as his heart and feelings were still there, he had lost his conscience. He was still Will, but with a new personality that was devoid of morals. "I'd always choose you." He spoke meaningfully and his eyes changed into an animalistic yellow. "I promise to protect you, Buffy."

And for once, she was selfish and let that promise be enough.

"Want you so much," Will growled,and it sent tingles down her spine. They sunk to the ground, with her in his lap, straddling him in her slaying clothes. "Always have."

She closed her eyes in a mixture of pleasure and pain as his fangs pierced her neck. She couldn't tell him back, even though she knew it was true. She wouldn't have distanced herself from him after only two weeks if she hadn't felt it just as strongly. "Won't hurt you, pet." He spoke softly, pulling away after barely a sip. "Never fail you again. I swear it."

"William," She pulled his head back to her neck. "That wasn't enough. You need more."

He reverberated with a low purr of a growl as he sucked lightly on her wound. She felt the tremors go through her in response, and she had never felt anything like it before. "This isn't the time or the place, luv. Or I'd make you scream my name, as you fell apart around me."

She pulled away from him, realizing the danger he posed if she grew to rely on him to control himself when she was his greatest temptation. But she was the flame to his moth, and vice versa. That's why she had tried to reconnect with him that night, before everything went sideways. That's why she had kept quiet at first when she saw him under her tree, and crept to get a better look at what he was up to, only to have him spot her. That's why she forgave him for becoming a monster, and tried to help him reclaim his humanity. It was dangerous, foolhardy, and already led to one of them being killed… but she knew that she wouldn't be able to put out the flame and say goodnight.

"William," She kissed him lightly, their first kiss and he wasn't even himself anymore, not fully. "I missed you. I shouldn't have stayed away."

"I'll be by your side now, Buffy." He kissed her on the head as she buried her nose in his dirty clothes. He smelt a little of tobacco, and liquor. Nothing like how he used to smell, parchment and ink. "As long as you'll have me."

They patrolled together that night, and he left before the sun could turn him into a pile of dust. Her watcher said nothing of her rumpled appearance, slaying often led to a similar amount of grass and mud stains. She had a thick scarf on the keep the early spring chill off, so no danger of the Watcher spying Will's bite mark. She had lied about him being her grandfather, it was easier that way… than explaining that she had been abandoned by her parents and the only person who would take her in, and believe her, was apart of a secret organization that uses young women to fight evil. "Thank you for waiting up for me, sir." She mumbled half heartedly, he knew not to expect any more from her.

"Miss Summers," He began, voice almost warm, "You don't have to push yourself until daybreak. Rest is important at your age."

"I don't exactly have a long life stretching out in front of me… I doubt I will need my beauty sleep." She tiredly spoke, punctuating her point with an un ladylike yawn. "No offense intended but I'd rather sleep first and report later. Nothing big happened anyway."

The Watcher merely nodded and went into his study, leaving her to make her way up the stairs to her room. It was the only room on the second level, besides her bathroom. The bedroom was decorated to be "amenable to a young lady's sensibilities". The chores were done for her, everything was neatly arranged. She hated it. Her handmaid offered to help her undress but she declined It was easy enough when you wore pauper's clothes. The house was equipped with running hot and cold water, a luxury, so she merely had to turn the taps and wait a few moments for the boiler to work before she could wash some of the grime off and dress for bed.

Once clean, she snuggled under the covers with Mr. Gordo and was fast asleep before you could say Vampire.

Over the next few weeks she patrolled as normal but wondered when she would finally see this Angelus for herself, and if she really wanted to… considering. But waiting around for the other shoe to drop was killing her. Very slowly.

She wanted him to show his face so she could pummel a new hole in it. Apparently he was moving pieces in the shadows, or he had given up on the foolish plan altogether. Either way she was worried because she hadn't seen William since that night. Who was back with them, no doubt, and probably killing half the city. She'd been the one fool enough to trust him to keep his promise. So, when she saw him again, instigating a bar brawl in the rougher part of town, she joined the fight. Against him.

"Not very sporting, Slayer… kicking a vamp when he's already got a bar full of angry louses swingin' at him." He curled his tongue suggestively, "Unless you just want a little rough and tumble and don't know how to ask for it."

She blushed but kept up her assault. "You promised!"

He blinked at her, not comprehending her meaning. "So I did. I've kept up my end fair and square. Had to maintain appearances of course, when I went back to them. It'd look a trifle odd if I started turning away all the tasty morsels. I killed them quick though, didn't let them have their fun. Angelus didn't like that much, he wants me to learn his ways… sick bastard."

"How hard is it to not kill someone?" She asked, exasperated.

"Pretty much impossible, pet… I'm sorry. I couldn't get them free without arousing suspicion." He spoke remorsefully, but it was only regret that he hadn't pleased her… not that he was sorry for the deaths of innocent people.

Those deaths were on her, and for what? Saving her own skin from Angelus? Was it really worth it? Would she be a worse threat if Angelus got his wish of a slayer turned vamp? She wasn't exactly the best at determining ethics like this. "Do we need to fool them? Can't you switch sides officially now?"

William shoved her into an angel statue instead of answering immediately. At first she didn't get why he would have attacked her out of the blue until she heard a chilling voice speaking to him. "Not so rough with MY slayer, Willie boy."

William scoffed, "She's not worthy of the title. Can you believe she actually thinks I'm her old chum?" Even though she knew he was speaking for the benefit of what she quickly guessed was Angelus, it still hurt. "I mean… I'm obviously way more attractive than that ponce ever was."

Angelus spotted her with his human eyes, but they were devoid of anything that could be called human. "Shouldn't you be running now?"

Buffy took one last look at Will, but he was looking back with a hungry gleam in his eyes. It got her feet in motion before she realized she had turned away from them. The cemetery passed by in a blur as she ran without direction. She found her way to the park, and scurried up into their tree. She gripped the bark tightly, as she clenched her eyes closed with shame. She never ran… but somehow she knew she wasn't ready to take Angelus down. She heard a woman's voice from behind her as she made to climb down the tree, "A knight can only serve one Princess."

Buffy tried to spin around, fists at the ready, but had her head bounced roughly off the tree, and she blacked out. When she regained consciousness she was chained up in the middle of a fancy parlor, covered in blood. It took her a moment to realize, it was her Watcher's. The biggest clue was his glassy eyes staring accusingly at her from where he was posed next to her. A manic looking vampiress was twirling his mustache with a vague smile on her lips.

Buffy tried to scream, but she was gagged quite securely. She struggled to free herself but there wasn't enough room to snap the metal.

"She awakes." The other voice in the room belonged to Angelus, "Normally I'd kill your family, toy with them a bit, and let you live only to kill everyone wherever you go… But I already did that… so I'm thinking it'll be enough to know that you were betrayed by Willie boy. Speaking of which, I think he owes me an apology for tasting you first. Don't you agree, Dru?"

The mad vampiress giggled in agreement, "My William has been a bad dog." And she barked.

William shrugged in response, "Not arguing with you there, luv."

Angelus waited a moment before he realized that no apology was forthcoming. The only vampire that hadn't looked at her was sitting casually on the other sofa in the room, looking bored with the proceedings. "Do we really want another baby vampire? William is trouble enough." The one that she pegged as Darla spoke.

"Yes, he is… But she was supposed to be first…. before Dru decided she wanted to turn him instead of kill him like I said." Angelus spoke brusquely, pointing at Drusilla, who was pouting.

"Don't be cross with me," She suddenly smiled, her eyes less clouded with madness, "It's better like this… Now we can be a family. William can be her Daddy."

Angelus growled, "That wasn't in the plan. I don't want a weak vampire like him siring my slayer."

Darla rolled her eyes, "I'll do it. Let's just get out of this town. I'm bored with the cuisine."

Buffy kept working at the chains, but they wouldn't budge. There was no way he'd side with her, if she was still strung up like a pig for slaughter. They argued for a few minutes more before Angelus grabbed her frenzied wrists in a bruising grip. "There's no escaping this, Slayer."

"Buffy," William spoke softly, "Her name's Buffy."

That seemed to set Angelus off because, before she knew it, he bit her viciously in the neck, and began draining her. He took the gag off so he could hear her scream, but the scream gave way to silent gasping as she lost more and more blood. The world grew dim, and yet it was noisy, as she heard a scuffle. And then, before the world disappeared, she felt moisture dripping into her open mouth, and she drank… suddenly more parched than she had ever been. And then there was nothing for a great, long while.

Until she heard a voice speaking to her inside her own head. It was hers, yet not, the voice spoke in a way she never had. "You already have me. I won't let that filth take control of you. I'm the only one who gets to do that."

"What are you?"

"Your demon, the one who gives you strength so you can feed me the death of my enemies. One of them is sieging your soul. Whatever you do, when the pain starts… don't give up. Don't let go."

Once the other said pain, she felt a fire go through all of her nerves, though she still didn't even feel her body. Another voice spoke, but it wasn't hers… it didn't even sound like her. "You think that shadow of a demon will protect you? You're wrong. No soul can remain when I come in."

She buckled down, but did not answer, saving her strength to resist giving in and letting go.

"If you leave now, you can still die a hero, go to that other place. Rest, Slayer."

She thought no over and over again until the word lost all meaning. Eventually the pain and the other voice stopped, and only she remained. But she couldn't be sure that it had left. Her eyes cracked open slowly as she tried to look around for it, but it wasn't in the small box with her. Nobody was. She listened very hard and could just barely make out the sound of someone digging above her. She panicked when she realized she wasn't just in a box. She was in a coffin.

A mad scramble later and she was gasping in the cool night air. She soon turned her feral eyes on the source of the earlier sound. "It had to be me… All along, it had to be me to turn you, pet."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

_Baby don't worry_

_The demons in your head_

_Always had the best intent_

_Ever try to listen in?_

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><p>Shaking fingers covered in freshly turned soil brought themselves to her face with a mixture of dread and curiosity. She hissed when they came in contact with the now unfamiliar planes of her face. She had already known, of course, that she was different than she had been… but to feel it made it somehow more real, instead of just a played out nightmare. After everything she had sacrificed to prevent this from happening, only to have it come about anyway… She chalked it up to being just her luck. Much like becoming the Slayer had been, when all she had wanted before her destiny was to go to ball after ball in all the prettiest of frocks. When she was called, those things had become dull. A childish dream of a foolish young woman.<p>

"You made me like this?" She spoke in barely a whisper, but it seemed to hit William like a ton of bricks. He threw the shovel down, away from them both and reached out to her.

She turned away from him but a deeper part of herself screamed at her not to ignore her sire. She kindly told it to shut up. "Had to. You lost so much blood… you would have been dead before anything could be done. Didn't want to lose you forever… even if you hate me now."

She wanted to agree with him, that she did hate him. But she couldn't, the most she could do was not look at him. "You should have let me die. I could have come back more of a monster than I already am."

"I know that!" He shouted, spinning her around to face him. His face was a picture of anguish and guilt, it shouldn't have been possible for a soulless vampire. "Knew it was risky… but I was willing to take the risk. Hoping you'd still be you. You are, aren't you?"

She didn't have an easy answer to that. How does one know if they are the same? Philosophy was far from being her strong suit. She remembered the battle for her soul, but couldn't remember how or when it had ended. Or what the result of the battle had been. She remembered the three different voices… but now there was only the one. "I don't know. I think I am… but that can't be true."

"Let's play a little word association game, then. I say: Tree, you say:"

"Shade." She answered automatically. It was inconclusive.

"Home:"

"Gone."

"People:"

"Protect."

"Angelus:"

She couldn't stop her face from morphing into that of the demon when she growled out, "Slay."

He put his arms around her as she got control of herself once more, and spoke soothingly into her ear. "That's my girl. You may be a little more bumpy in the forehead region, but you are you."

"William," She sighed into his scratchy wool coat. "I understand why you did this… but I may never forgive it. Do you understand?"

He kissed the top of her head, and whispered so quietly she had to use her vampire hearing to make it out. "Yeah, pet, I do. Not gonna stop tryin' to make it up to you. Going to be here for you, always."

She sniffed back her tears and pulled away from him.

"We have an eternity, or until one of us is killed. Won't give up on you, luv. You'll have to kill me first." He spoke with conviction, and she felt moved. But how much of that was merely words? "I mean it. Stake me now if you don't want me doggin' your heels."

He handed her a stake, one of her own in fact, and held his arms out like a martyr. Her hand closed around the wood, and she felt more solid than she had in quite some time. "Put your arms down, you look ridiculous."

He smiled saucily at her as he brought his hands down his chest suggestively. "As you wish."

She rolled her eyes at him, "Let's go kill the bad guy."

William gave her a look and said, "About that, he's already scarpered. Council of Watcher-whatzits found out he slaughtered you and your watcher and sent a bunch of mercenaries to take Angelus out. Angelus didn't like the odds, so he left me behind to take care of you. Took Dru and Darla with him. Cowardly bastard."

"Okay, then we'll go to him, wherever he is, and bust his head in. Let's just get moving." She pulled him out of the cemetery, and he led the way to the train station. It would take them many years, and many more train rides before they caught up to the rest of the Whirlwind in Romania.

They ran into Drusilla first. She was covered in blood and twirling in a field of burdock as she hummed a nursery rhyme a little off key. The burrs had caught themselves on her dress, but she paid it no mind.

_Girls and boys, come out to play,_

_The moon doth shine as bright as day;_

_Leave your supper, and leave your sleep,_

_And come with your playfellows into the street._

_Come with a whoop, come with a call,_

_Come with a good will or not at all._

_Up the ladder and down the wall,_

_A halfpenny roll will serve us all._

_You find milk, and I'll find flour,_

_And we'll have a pudding in half an hour._

Her eyes alighted on William and Buffy, standing just outside the field. "I dreamed you would come back to us, my sweet William."

William made his way over to her, and began pulling the burrs out of her hair on clothes as he led her out of the field, her dainty hand in his. "Not my choice to leave you."

Buffy felt strangely jealous when she saw him doting on the other woman. "And you too, Elizabeth. You were left behind so that Daddy wouldn't have to punish you for your bad thoughts. You won't kill him now, though. He put his hand into the cookie jar, and came out with a burning spark in his chest. Burning against the night. It's too bright William… it hurts princess' eyes."

Buffy had no idea then what Drusilla was talking about, but it seemed William did. "He's still Angelus, no matter what got stuffed back in. The part of him that hurt you is still there. The part that bragged about how you were turned, made to love him after all he did to you. I don't care if he was washed in sacramental oils, that will never wash off."

Drusilla spun away from William as soon as she was on the dirt road again. "Follow the smell of death. But you won't kill him."

Buffy disagreed with that, but she kept her mouth shut since it seemed Drusilla was willing to take them to him. He was in a wooded clearing, drenched in blood, and dry heaving while tears streamed down his face. He was mumbling to himself, but she couldn't make out the words. She yanked him up with all her might and shoved him against a tree. He didn't resist, his eyes were at first shocked, but then accepting. "Please, end it."

Her hand came down hard, but her stake only pierced his shoulder. He cried out, "Why didn't you do it?! Kill me. That's what you were made for!"

She saw it in his eyes. The spark, like Drusilla had said.

"Won't kill an innocent to end the unlife of a murderer." She pulled the stake out of his shoulder with a flourish, blood falling out on the autumn leaves. "Whoever you were before… he deserves a second chance. This time, to do it right."

"I want to die!" He cried, wiping blood and tears from his face with his once white shirt. "I can't live with this guilt."

Tired of his moping, she punched him in the nose. "Spare me. You won't find any pity here. You may have your soul back, but I know. I see you in there… and all that has happened is a change in prisoner and warden. And you should live a lot longer. To make up for what you did."

She dropped him to the ground, and he ran. She let him go, no longer wanting to chase him down in what seemed like forever. Drusilla twined her arm around William and smiled sadly. "We'll see him again."

"I hope not, pet." William answered in return. "I might just kill him, sod his stupid soul."

Drusilla pulled back from him quickly after that. "You've been eating animals."

William shrugged. "The Slayer doesn't like it when I snack on the townspeople."

"Did I fail you, my William?" Drusilla asked regretfully. "You were meant to be my dark knight. My bad dog, that goes howling at the moon. Now you can barely be called a demon."

William looked affronted by her words. "I'm bad."

Darla laughed at him from where she was winding her her to them from the trees. "Compared to a nun, maybe. But then again, we have an almost nun who is badder than you." Then she asked once she was closer to them, "Have you seen Angelus?"

Buffy pointed the direction he ran off in. "He's gone though. Left without you two… I suspect you wouldn't have enjoyed his company anymore, anyway."

The four of them parted ways in that forest, Dru and Darla going together, William and Buffy going their way. Ne'er the twain to meet, or so they thought. For some time Buffy and Spike kept a low profile, staying well out of the way of the active Slayers, while still keeping an eye out for anything that seemed apocalypse worthy. Mostly they fought demons by night, and curled up together by day. Buffy slowly forgave him in the years it had been since her turning, it helped that he made every effort to overcome his own nature. A part of her knew that it would only last as long as she rewarded him for it. If Spike was to be Dru's bad dog, he'd turned into Buffy's good dog. But really, all a dog really knows of good and bad is what it's master tells it.

It had been early on in their travels that they accidently traipsed into the territory of the then active Slayer. Spike had brought them both to China, during the Boxer Revolution, on a hunch that something else was going on there. Buffy agreed, feeling drawn to the place on an instinctual level. Drawn to the fellow Slayer, they would come to find out. She was small, much like Buffy, but her moves were more precise, choreographed almost, like she was only in a play. Buffy watched as Spike fought her, trying to protect Buffy from being decapitated by her wicked sword. It was obvious he really enjoyed it, the challenge, the rush. Neither of them spoke the others language so it was impossible to clear up the misunderstanding that they may be demons, but they weren't evil ones.

William ended up with a scar on his eyebrow, over his left eye, for his trouble. Eventually, Buffy just had to knock her out with the gong mallet. They stowed her somewhere safe, as the city was engulfed in flames, and resolved to never again bother with areas of high energy like that. Particularly since they ran into Darla, Dru, and Angelus again. He seemed to ignore her advice to start over and was clinging to his sire… but she soon kicked him out, disgusted with his soul. That's when he begged Buffy and Spike to take him in. Buffy agreed, much to Spike's chagrin, and they went back to traveling the world, and killing demons.

"What do you mean you've been eating rats?" Buffy crinkled her nose. "How did you not think to go to a butchers sooner?"

Angel gave her a pathetic looking scowl. "Didn't have any money."

"Mate, I hate to break it to you, but you are a little dim." Spike taunted, pointing at Angel with the stake he was carving. "Just nick it."

Spike laughed as Angel tuned him out with an unpleasant expression. "Now that I think of it, though... that explains the smell."

They were in New York, Spike had wanted to take in a few shows, the punk scene was strong in the Big Apple. Not that Buffy or Angel ever went, for completely different reasons. Angel still had trouble with being around humans. Buffy couldn't stand the music. But she agreed to travel to the city, because he promised to get her all of the prettiest dresses.

She watched fondly as Will ruffled Angel's feathers. They both enjoyed the exchange, so no harm no foul. "Fowl. Feathers. Hah." She laughed at her own pun but they barely gave her a wink for it. To be fair, it was so far left of field you would need binoculars to see the field.

The stake making had been put aside as they wrestled on the floor, Buffy tried not to imagine them doused in oil, and wearing far less clothes. But she failed.

"Like what you see, pet?" Spike spared a moment from choking Angel to give her a quick wink.

"I don't breath, Spike." Angel sarcastically spoke as he attempted to regain the upper hand.

Buffy got up, brushing off the shards of wood from herr cargo pants, still not comfortable in the garments of the present decade. No usable pockets in bell bottoms. Thankfully Spike latched onto punk and not disco. The thought of him in a sparkly pantsuit with comically wide legs made her snort. She paid no attention as the wood chips joined the earlier ones on the floor of their deserted train depot/ temporary home. Angel now had Spike pinned to the floor and they were both snarling fiercely. She lifted him up quite easily by his belt and tossed him into the wall, away from Spike. "Enough!"

"He started it." Angel bit out.

Buffy gestured to herself, for him to take in her unamused expression. "Does it look like I care?"

A brief moment of silence passed as Angel stopped glaring at Spike and picked up the shards of his dignity. He turned his back on both of them, and spoke to the steel container wall, "The Slayer noticed me skulking around."

Spike scoffed, "No surprise there. She'd have to be blind not to notice the Great Forehead."

Buffy pointed at Spike in warning, before speaking to Angel. "And? What were you even doing within a city block of her?"

"Followed our target there. He led me straight to her… And I stayed a bit longer to see what would happen." Angel turned a glowering eye on Buffy next. "I thought you would be interested to know he's following a human… not a demon like we thought."

"How human?" Spike asked, a speculative gleam to his eyes. "Reckon I can kill him if he's evil, right pet?"

"Of course you'd want to know that..." Angel griped. "He's some kind of warlock. But that's not the most interesting thing. She's pregnant."

Buffy's eyes widened and for a moment she felt intensely jealous of the newest Slayer. But then a kind of empathy settled in. "That has to be slowin' her down." Spike spoke as she became lost in thought. "How's she 'spose to stop the Big Bad with a bun in the oven?"

Buffy picked up one of the finished stakes and twirled it expertly. "She won't have to do it alone."

In the end the Slayer almost died, weak from giving birth. But Spike, surprising even himself, took the blow himself as Buffy went for the kill. She took no pleasure in ending the warlock's life. But a part of her was glad he was dead, like really dead. Angel missed most of the battle because the warlock teleported him under the sea, at the bottom in fact. IT was a hell of a battle, but more moving was when Spike helped her to her feet, and she offered her own jacket for the one that got burnt by the warlock. That's when Spike resolved to be a real white hat, once and for all. Maybe he didn't realize it himself at the time, but he always kept an ear open for news of the Slayer. Nikki Wood, for the time she had, and then all the subsequent Slayers. And sometimes they packed everything up, and made their way into danger. Secretly, Buffy was happy to be back in the action, even if she no longer beared the mantle.

Angel, on the other hand, soon parted ways with them both, in New York in fact. They didn't see hide nor hair of him until they all met again in the Valley of the Sun. The Master was still trapped there, but he had been calling more frequently to those in his line to come to him. So, Buffy and Spike decided if he wanted them so much, that's exactly what he would get.

First, they found Darla and some vamp that hadn't changed his look since he'd been turned. They both were about to eat three dumb teenagers. Spike quickly staked the one with Darla, tossing it from across the room as they entered, and put themselves between Darla and the cowering teens. "Been awhile, hasn't it?" Buffy spoke, flashing a little teeth, which caused one boy to yelp quite unmanly. "Romania… I wish I could say your sense of fashion has improved."

The teens fled, now that they had even the slightest opportunity.

Darla snarled, already in game face. "You think you and your dog are a match for me?"

Buffy tried to hold back the laughter, but failed. "You might want to rethink your position here. Right, Angel?"

Darla's face shifted back into a human's as she swiveled to face the vampire blocking the door. "Miss me?" He slammed her into the wall, knocking her out cold.

Spike rolled his eyes. "Like a heart attack, you big lug."

Another vampire joined the party, this one looked too big to fit in the small mausoleum. He took a look at the group assembled around a sprawling Darla, and realized his error in coming out of the secret passage. "Must be down that yellow brick road to the Master. Maybe he'll give this tin man a heart." Spike snarked, not concerned with their intruder. "Ready, Dorothy?"

Buffy nodded. "You might want to get out of our way. The Master has been expecting us. Wouldn't you know, he's never met me before?"

"You are one of us? Then why do I smell Slayer?"

"First of all, ew, could you be anymore of a creepy vampire stereotype?" Second of all, duh!" She pushed the other vampire out of the way. "Angel, grab Darla. We're going to meet the Master."

Luke gave in, leading them down to the Master, where they laid her down at his feet, just outside the magical barrier. She felt it keenly, it even buzzed in her ears as the Master punched at it to get to them. "What did you do to her, Angelus?!"

"She looked like she needed the beauty sleep." Angel shrugged. "As if you really care… She was only ever property to you."

"Getting off track here," Buffy segued roughly, "Thing is, we just came here to tell you to stop paging us. It gets really annoying. Then we'll be out of your hair. Leave you to be evil."

The Master's frown turned into an unsettling gin. "You are one of mine… but I haven't seen you, or the white haired one before. If I'm not mistaken you were formerly a Slayer."

"I still am. Want a demonstration?" Her smile was wide, and toothy. The burly one rushed her with a vicious snarl. Something to the effect of 'Don't threaten the Master', not that she'd really paid attention. She staked him easily, the Master howled with rage. His fists beating on the barrier that kept him in his prison. "Not exactly who I had in mind, but you can't beat eager volunteers."

More vampires came down, dragging the three stupid teenagers back down to the Master's lair.

"We brought the sacri-" They spoke before they took in the scene of three vampires holding stakes, and one knocked out on the floor. "What the hell happened here?"

The Master rolled his eyes at his dim minions. "What are you idiots waiting for? Kill them!"

One of them pulled a torch out of the wall and began to swing it wildly at them, Spike dodged him as Angel kicked him into the Master. The both of them screeched as they ran for the creepy pool of blood in the room. The minion didn't make it, but the Master did.

"Angelus! Call your progeny off." The Master spoke, drenched with blood and looking like a murderous wet cat. Glowing yellow eyes and all.

Angel chuckled with amusement. "You think I can control those two?"

"Should've known better, Gramps." Spike added.

They killed the remaining minions, but left Darla and the Master in the cave, choosing instead to escort the teenagers to safety this time. They had plenty more opportunities to kill those two.

"So, where to?" Buffy gently asked the shell shocked teenagers. They pointed towards the better side of town.

The lankier of the two males had to lean against Buffy, because he was woozy from bloodloss. "That was so cool. You three are like… something really cool."

Spike rolled his eyes. "C'mon, luv. Let's get this vamp bait to the hospital. I'm sure his two friends want to stay to make sure he doesn't keel on them."

The female with bright red hair kept looking at Spike furtively. Buffy tried not to hold it against her. "He is hot, huh?" Buffy winked at her.

The girl blushed while Spike gave her a lascivious look. "If Buffy wouldn't mind I would like a nibble of you too, Red."

She looked behind her, as if Spike must be talking about someone else, and it was adorable. "Me? You don't want me. I'm just Willow."

"Don't sell yourself short." He winked, but soon swiveled his eyes back to Buffy, his expression changing completely. "She'd make a hell of a vampire."

"No. A world of no, Spike." Buffy commanded while at the same time giving his hand a quick squeeze. "We just snatched them from the Master. Let's not make ourselves into hippogriffs."

"Hypocrites, luv." He softly corrected, already forgetting his desire to make another vampire. Anything for Buffy.

"Yes, that." She spoke, as she hefted the tall one back into standing. They soon got him checked into the hospital under 'animal attack'.

The shorter male thanked them, Buffy in particular. He clearly had a crush on the blonde slaypire. "So, uh, thanks for saving Jesse. But I hope we don't see you three ever again."

"That seems fair," She looked him over carefully. "You seem to be okay. But don't push your luck anymore. Night time is so not the right time."

With that, they waved goodbye to the mayflies and went back out into the almost dawn, to find somewhere to hide during the day. Buffy eyed the horizon with regret, she missed the Sun more than anything else from her mortal life. If she closed her eyes, she could almost remember the soft warmth as she sat beneath the tree at Oxford, with William at her side. She peeled her eyes open. Knowing it was futile to dream of what they could have been had fate not stepped in to keep them forever between life and death.

They rolled into an abandoned factory just in time. Spike's hair had even started to sizzle more than usual.

Before long they found out there may not have been a Slayer stationed on the Sunnydale Hellmouth, but there was a Watcher. Considering Buffy felt oddly protective of Willow and the other two, they decided to speak with the man. He might be able to protect them more, by keeping them out of the dark.

Of course, he pulled a crossbow on them as they walked into the Library where he was pouring over books. Spike quickly plucked it out of the man's hands. "Ah, ah, ah. No weapons for you, young man."

The Watcher scowled at Spike, a not too uncommon reaction to the irritating vampire. "What do I owe the pleasure?"

Buffy smiled, unfazed by the negative atmosphere. "Came to help you help us. You see, three students nearly became vamp chow last night. That crazy Master, he's up to his old tricks again, trying to escape his prison. One of them said something about a Harvest before I staked her. Harvest, what? I thought. But it's obvious, isn't it?"

Buffy waited for the older man, though he was much younger than her chronologically, to ask, "What is it, then?"

"Blood." Spike answered, the cross bow behind him. "Blood is life, lack-brain. Why do you think we eat it? It's what keeps you going. Makes you warm. Makes you hard. Makes you other than dead."

The Watcher looked particularly sour when Spike insulted his intelligence. "What do you suggest I do about it? I tried to get the Slayer here… but her watcher stopped taking my calls. I read the signs… it all points to the Hellmouth waking up."

"We felt it," Buffy spoke more diplomatically. "That's not going to happen. This mouth is staying shut."

"Why should I trust you three?" The Watcher asked. "Vampires aren't known for being virtuous at heart."

"I have a soul," Angel answered, "She is part Slayer…. and he is completely loyal to her."

The Watcher's eyes lit up with recognition. "You three… I can't believe I didn't see it before. Crowley wrote quite extensively about you three. You, the one with Nikki's coat… Spike, who saved her at great peril to himself. You, a small blonde who killed the warlock targeting her. And... you are the one who nearly drowned?"

"I didn't-" Angel began defensively, "More or less."

"So, you on board Jeeves?" Spike smirked, leaning back on the table strewn with books.

"Giles. It's Rupert Giles." He sighed. "Now, if you aren't going to kill me, I have research to do."

Spike clapped his hands together excitedly. "You get crackin' on those books. We'll get crackin' on some bones. Twist a few arms and the like. Got a town to save. Maybe I'll get the key to the city."

"One more thing, Giles." Buffy added, "Look after those kids, Willow, Jesse, and Xander… they won't forget about this so easily…. And you know how young men are. Might try something foolish."

"Yes, yes I believe I do." And that was the last he would say to them that night.

Buffy gave him one last piece of advice, "Ever think of taking your studies home? Kind of tempting fate by reading alone in a public space. Just a thought."

They left and the Library was quiet once more, until Giles whispered. "That's the idea."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Thank you guys for your interest in this story. Review if you can spare a moment. It helps me improve and also makes the story look more attractive to people browsing. :D**

**Win-Win.**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

_Part vampire_

_Part warrior_

_Carnivore and voyeur_

_Still have the transmitter_

_Synched to the death rattle_

"I wonder who's the current Slayer?" Buffy asked as she slammed a fledge into a mausoleum wall. Spike loved to watch her dance, she was effortlessly dangerous and beautiful, all while burning as bright as the sun. She had something he didn't have, that spark that kept the shadows at bay. Buffy never mentioned it, but he knew that it made her worry that he would kill humans again. But he hadn't strayed, not since she was turned. If he hadn't had been so selfish she wouldn't be living as a thing she hated. So he made a promise to himself that for the rest of his unlife, he would be the vampire she needed. "Spike? Are you even listening?"

He scratched the back of his head and spoke apologetically, "Sorry, pet. Didn't mean to zone off like that."

"So, new Slayer… she's not on the Hellmouth even though it is ripe, way ripe… What do you think about that?" Buffy asked while blowing the vampire dust out of her face, and settling herself against a tombstone. Spike's eyes widened when he saw the name on it.

Unfortunately she noticed and took a look. "Joyce Summers, loving mother and devoted wife…"

"She died here? Why did she move to Sunnydale?" Buffy looked to be in shock. Of course she had known her mother must be dead by now, but they had spent her last days alive tracking Angelus. It looked like she was feeling guilty. Spike pulled her to him and she only feebly resisted at first before she allowed herself to cry into his shirt. He kissed the top of her head and enjoyed the sound of her trying to hide a laugh.

"I 'spect the new Slayer is nothing at all like you, pet. Probably hasn't got two braincells to rub together. Her fighting style is probably Watcher standard… that is to say it sucks." He spoke, knowing he could say nothing that would make her feel better about her mother.

She pulled away from him with a slightly brighter expression than before. "You're probably right. I bet she reads the Slayer handbook every night."

"Luv, I bet she sleeps with it under her pillow." Spike upped the ante. Buffy was starting to hyperventilate, even though she had no need to breathe. It was in Spike's opinion, absolutely adorable.

Her laughter made her seem very nearly alive again. "Yeah, I bet she's," She started but stopped with a gobsmacked expression. "Right behind you."

Spike rolled out of the way as an arrow flew just past him. "Buggering hell, Slayer. Give a guy proper warning next time."

"That would defeat the purpose, wouldn't it?" A heavily accented voice spoke. The owner of said voice was quite the looker, but nothing special when compared to Buffy. He'd enjoy dancing with her never the less.

"Wasn't speaking to you, Slayer." Spike shouted as if it should have been perfectly obvious he was talking to Buffy.

"There is only one Slayer." She spoke automatically, just as preprogrammed as they thought. She reloaded and aimed the crossbow at Buffy. But the new one was no match for Buffy's speed, and years of experience. Before she could pull the trigger, the crossbow was kicked out of her hands.

"Think again. Come on, you should know who we are. Don't they give our story to little slayers like a bedtime story?" Buffy spoke as she quickly disabled the other girl. "What's your name?"

"Kendra," The other girl wheezed out, still fighting Buffy's grapple. "Vampire Slayer."

"We know." Spike and Buffy both spoke exasperatedly. "Well, Kendra. I'm Buffy, and that is Spike. Ringing any bells?"

"Other than the fact that you are both badly named for vampires, no." Kendra laughed, even though Buffy had already destroyed her weapons. "I mean, Buffy hardly strikes fear, does it?"

"Let's can the history lesson then and leave it at this, I have bigger fish to fry than you. And you can either help me take down the Master, or you can stay out of my way. Either way, you aren't going to be killing me, Spike, or even Angel." Buffy got up and let Kendra go, she knew better than to try to fight the both of them without a weapon. As the other Slayer fled, Spike twined his fingers with Buffy's.

"She seemed… nice." Buffy spoke unsincerely.

"Yeah, a regular ray of sunshine she was," Spike spoke with a drawl. "Can we go now? My fangs are starting to itch."

Buffy rolled her eyes at his maturity and pulled him along beside her, still hand in hand. They went back to Angel's place, though she had no idea how he had managed to find a landlord willing to rent to the deceased. And just where was he getting money? She probably didn't want to know. Spike gambled for his because he was fairly skilled at it, Buffy took odd jobs in demon extermination, but what was Angel good at?

"Nice place," Spike voiced her thoughts, "How'd you pocket enough dough to afford digs like this?"

Angel looked away from them with an embarrassed expression, and mumbled something even they couldn't hear.

"You what, mate?"

"I said I get it free as long as I visit with the landlady once a week and do odd jobs for her." Angel spoke through gritted teeth. They had already resumed their prickly ways, and it had only been a couple of hours.

"Let me get this straight," Spike spoke with a gleeful expression, "You clean her pipes, do you? Get those pesky bats out of her belfry?"

"Gross, Spike." Buffy admonished, though if she was honest she was a little bit amused. Not that she would let on to the fact.

Angel looked even more embarrassed. "Of course I don't."

Buffy really hoped to all that was good that he was telling the truth, and that the two just talked and had cookies like on a wholesome television show from the 60's. The other option was beyond wigsome. "Moving on from… that. Spike and I crossed ways with the current Slayer tonight. She was a bland fighter… but I sense there may be some untapped potential in her from her attempt at verbal sparrage."

Angel made a noise of complete and total non-commitment. "It's hardly a surprise. The Council was bound to send her eventually."

"I doubt it," Spike confidently spoke as he liberated a chair from being the resting place of a stack of books with a quick swipe. "Something about this doesn't sit right with me. For one thing, Rupes hasn't been in contact with the girl's Watcher for some time now. My guess is she struck out on her own."

Buffy, for the most part, agreed with Spike. "It's way fishy. Muy Pollo."

"That's chicken, ducks."

"Who has ever heard of a chicken-duck?"

Spike sighed, "Pollo, it means chicken not fish."

"Oh!" Buffy felt her face grow hot. "I knew that… was just testing you."

"Did I pass, Professor?" Spike asked with a devilish grin.

"If you two are done flirting I would like to have my solitude back." Angel grumbled.

Buffy warned him to be careful around the Slayer, which seemed to irritate him. Likely due to his overblown ego. After that, she left with Spike trailing after her. It was only a matter of time before they all ended up in the Library again, only to meet the Slayer once again… who seemed none too happy to see them. Probably due to the weapon breaking.

"You allow these… abominations to help you, Mr. Giles?" She asked without so much as a hello as soon as they had her restrained. Of course she tried to attack first. It was only logical, they are vampires after all.

Giles, to his credit, looked pained as he answered, "Allow is a strong word… suffer them to live as they suit my goals… much more dignified and Watcher-like, I'm sure you will agree."

"C'mon, Rupes… You know you secretly always liked us. Must have been such a scandalous story at Watcher central. A bit of a perverse thrill for you straight laced types." Spike openly mocked as he backed off the other Slayer. 'Not MY Slayer.'

"I would be careful making assumptions about me, Spike." Giles hissed through his teeth.

Spike snickered, but chose not to engage further. The tableau before him of Buffy tying up another girl stopped his brain from taking note of anything else. That's when the three children walked onto the scene.

The loud one shouted as he came in, " I know you said to stay out of it but- What the hell is going on in this town?"

Buffy looked from Xander to Kendra, and then back to Xander. "I can explain. There is a really good explanation for this."

"Is she a Vampire, too?" Jesse asked while Xander just stood there, gaping like a fish.

Kendra was offended by that of course, very offended. But somehow when she looked at Jesse to answer him, all she could do was blush and mutter no under her breath.

"Nope." Buffy spoke, taking charge of the situation. "She's just a pesky junior Vampire Slayer-"

"Going through her teething phase," Spike added. They shared a look that conveyed a secret joke between the two, before they both began chuckling.

"Okay… then why is she tied up?" Willow asked, eyes as round as saucers. "Isn't she a good guy?"

Spike's eyes narrowed. "There's one thing you should get through that adorable but thick head of yours. Just because they proclaim to be on the side of good… that doesn't mean they actually are…"

"Also, she kept trying to kill us… so there's that." Buffy explained more succinctly. "We aren't hurting her by doing this, but it gives us a chance to actually explain things without having to duck blows."

"Makes sense," spoke Jesse, already past it if his tone of voice was anything to go by. "I don't think she seems like a very good listener."

Kendra tried her best to hide her face from the overly curious Jesse, but failed.

Giles' coughed, trying to get Jesse to sit down, and stop staring at the new girl. He also failed.

"Oh for fuck's sake," Spike shouted and just pushed the boy into a chair, pointing at him to stay put. "And you aren't a very good looker."

Angel, who was doing his silent protagonist thing finally made a sound at that. But swiftly went back to scowling once he caught Spike giving him a look. "She won't understand, Buffy. She's not like you were." Angel's eyes glittered strangely, remembering the time he ripped her throat out, no doubt.

"Yeah," Buffy sighed out, sharing a significant look with Spike, "That's probably a good thing."

After that a plan was put together to take out the Master with minimal danger, much to Spike's disappointment. Willow soon volunteered to hack the city planning department. Jesse knew an alarming amount about what chemicals made the best improvised explosives. And Xander… he brought donuts. Kendra eventually agreed to work with them. All they had to do was kill him while he was trapped in the barrier. It seemed incredibly simple at the time, but one thing led to another and Kendra died in the battle. She was dodging one of Jesse's bombs as she shot from her crossbow and stepped over the barrier. The Master used her as a shield. Kendra yelled to shoot through her but no one could. The Master drank her blood, and dropped her in a pool of rainwater. She drowned, but only just, before Xander revived her. Kendra couldn't stop blushing as they returned to the Library.

She had failed to take out the Master by herself as she had planned. But they were there to finish the job. Even the kids helped a little. "I apologize," Kendra muttered, "You are not like other vampires, Buffy. I'll be glad of your help."

Buffy nodded in recognition, deciding not to make a big deal out of it. "You should go back to your Watcher. I know you left without his permission… and more importantly without a word of goodbye."

"You don't need me here?" Kendra asked, sounding somewhat hurt. "I could train under Mr. Giles instead."

Giles put her down easy, "It's not that we couldn't use you here, Kendra. But you left a life behind. Until you can come here openly, I'm concerned you might take other risks. Or keep other secrets."

"Like yours?" She asked pointedly, knowing she could not tell the council, or her watcher, what had really happened on the Hellmouth.

"Bad ones." Buffy replied. "Mostly, I think you need time to become your own Slayer. You couldn't do that with me around. I hog all the good fights. It would be miserable for you."

Eventually Kendra reluctantly agreed that she did need her own space, but promised she would be back if she heard anything about Sunnydale being in danger. So probably by the next Tuesday. Buffy marveled at how quickly they had won the girl over from being staunchly against all demons to appreciating the grey areas. When the dust had settled, they had to destroy the Master's bones, the humans and the vampires headed out to the Bronze for a celebratory round of drinks for the adults and dancing for them both. Giles even came along for one drink but then insisted on maintaining his appearance of a responsible adult.

Buffy settled her cheek into the well worn softness of Spike's leather coat and inhaled slowly. His hands caressed her lower back which made her feel a mixture of comfort and arousal. Her eyes were closed but she could hear Willow trying to get Xander to dance, but the boy was unwilling. She knew exactly why because she could feel his eyes on her like a physical force. She smirked when she heard Spike whisper under his breath something altogether unflattering about Xander's character. "Any man would be a fool to ignore such a girl."

Buffy agreed, in a purely platonic sense, as Willow was really sweet and cute. But more importantly, incredibly smart. You don't want to piss off a smart girl. "It would never work out." Buffy concluded.

"Too true, luv." Spike spun her around so that his lips were on her neck and they were doing a sensuous grind in front of all and sundry. Xander turned a bright pink and looked away. "He's a vanilla kind of chap, and she's going to want more than that."

Buffy snorted, amused at how much more liberated you could feel about sex when you have been alive for more than a century. If only Will could hear himself now… "People can change." She spoke with a slight hitch to her voice as he expertly pushed her buttons.

Willow caught a glance at their dance and became pink as well, but her eyes didn't immediately dart away like a stray cat at night. She merely smiled at them and turned back to her solo cup full of soda, and her conversation with Jesse and Xander.

Buffy marvelled at how easily she had become friendly with these people, since she was turned… actually way before that when she became a slayer… it had been hard to close the distance with people. To think a group of Californian teenagers could do what a century of other people hadn't. Spike had been everything to her for so long that she distrusted the familiarity she felt for the other three. Buffy turned herself around, twining her arms around Spike's neck in the process. His blue eyes grew hot as he took every last inch of her in. "Tired of playing at normal, pet? Reckon there's a flat surface somewhere I can take you on… Not that I'd mind having you wrapped around me right here on the dance floor."

They left in a flurry soon after, leaving the kids behind them looking a mixture of perplexed and flustered. Buffy paid them no more attention or thought for several hours after that. Aside from a few instances of running into them after dark as they played at being Slayers, Buffy didn't even see them for several months. For the most part Spike and Buffy had decimated the vampire populace, with help from Angel. Until one day when Willow came to them for assistance with a Slay related problem. Angel led her to their hideout, otherwise she would have never found it. "You told me to come to you if anything weird popped up. So, here I am."

"What's the weird?" Buffy asked, taking a seat on Spike's lap so Willow would have somewhere to sit in the sparsely furnished room. Willow eyed the couple only briefly before managing to sit.

"People in pieces. Not torn to pieces… it's more surgical. Also, they were mutilated post mortem. Giles can't figure it out… most reanimation spells call for at least the brain. These people are leaving more than they take. No brains were missing so far." Willow recited. "Cordelia found them after cheer practice, if you can believe that."

Spike hummed as Buffy lowered her head in thought. "That is weird… Perhaps a black market… or a morbid collector. Any other clues?"

Willow shrugged, "Well, they've all been female so far… and recently buried."

"Need 'em fresh, don't they?" Spike posed a leading question. "Something's not fresh enough with the brains… probably won't stop at just diggin' up corpses."

Willow gave Spike a look full of speculation. "Of course, it's the formaldehyde… The brain would be coated with the stuff. Embalmed corpses wouldn't be very fresh."

Spike snorted, "Humans tryin' to do what vampires have been doing since the first of us walked the earth."

Buffy tracked the conversation with her eyes. "So you're saying that these people are creating some kind of Frankenstein's monster?"

Spike held up his hands in the universal sign of spookiness, and snarked, "It's alive!"

Willow frowned, shifting uneasily in her seat. "But who's behind this?"

"The bodies were found in and around your campus, Red." Spike spoke more seriously, "Probably someone you know."

A few minutes later saw Willow shakily rising from the couch. She hugged them both and promised them that she would be safe. Even though they were all well aware that it would be dangerous to investigate the persons responsible. There wasn't much that Buffy and Spike could do during the day so they would lend a hand at night, meeting in the usual place.

As soon as they could leave without bursting into flames, they made their way to the Sunnydale High School Library. Giles greeted them with a distracted glance up from the book he was perusing. None of the rest of the gang were there yet.

"Where's Red, Short Fuse, and the Whelp?" Spike asked while casually flipping through one of the books stacked upon the table.

Giles seemed to startle as he glanced with shock at his watch. "They should be back by now."

"Great job watching them, Watcher."

Giles looked at Spike with his brow creased deeply. Whether he was more angry at Spike or himself was up to debate.

"Will, please," Buffy spoke with a roll of her eyes. "Where are they, Giles?"

Giles blinked when Spike immediately stopped taunting at Buffy's request. "The American Football game, they think whoever is doing this'll go after the cheerleaders."

"You aren't there with them because...?"

Spike and Giles both scoffed at the same time and in the same way. They shared a somewhat less hostile look than usual. "Bloody rugby with armor."

"Okay that was way weird. Don't do that Brit mind meld thing." Buffy shuddered as she left the library to look for Willow and the others at the game. "Spike, stay here with Giles, in case… just stay here."

"As you wish, Buttercup." Buffy heard Spike say as the doors swung closed and she began jogging towards the field. Of course she ran into Jesse first, who looked majorly wigged. He was breathing heavily and wheezing out something about Cordelia.

"Jesse, slow down. Breathe." Buffy spoke while taking hold of the boy's shoulders in a steadying grip. "What about Cordelia?"

"Taken- Couldn't- Snuck- Sorry!" He managed to just barely make sense.

"Where?" Buffy asked directly, eyes sharpening with Slayer like focus. "Where did they take her?"

"I don't know." Jesse spoke desperately, still slightly out of breath. "Willow and Xander went after them." Jesse looked incredibly frightened that his friends were most likely in mortal danger as he spoke, and he couldn't help them.

Buffy left the shell shocked Jesse in the hallway as she broke out into a dead run, blasting through the doors, causing them to rattle on their hinges. She smelled fire in the air and headed in that direction on a hunch. Even at a dead run she only got there just in time to see Xander and Cordelia blast out of the building on a gurney, both of their clothes catching alight, with Willow trying to stop the flames long enough for the most grotesque figure to escape, but it was all for naught. The disfigured individual clutched to a headless body and keened as he was engulfed in flames. Willow turned to Buffy, tears building in her eyes. "My fault… All my fault."

Buffy pulled Willow out of her daze with a quick shake. "No! Don't you dare think that."

"If anything, it was my fault… I had a responsibility to you three. I shouldn't have-" Buffy began before it was Willow's turn to interrupt.

"Are you kidding? You couldn't be less at fault. You trusted us to solve this- not to do the Slayerly work… I just thought I could handle it… I bit off more than I could chew." Willow trailed off as the fire engines pulled up.

"I told the Slayer. The REAL Slayer to go home… She could have been there where I couldn't." Buffy felt uneasy standing next to the blaze. She pulled Willow along to the ambulance that had also shown up. "I don't even get the visions anymore… who have I been kidding?"

Willow sniffled, as the paramedics looked them over. "Buffy, you saved us when you didn't even know us. Even if you aren't strictly a Slayer anymore… you are still a hero."

Buffy swatted away the paramedic when he tried to check her pulse. "I can't get any worse, thanks!"

Spike found the two of them hugging as tears streamed out of their eyes, and they were laughing. "I hate to ask this… but are you two completely mental?" That just made them laugh harder, as Spike was jerked into the hug with a yelp of surprise. Eventually they were given the okay, actually it took no time at all… Sunnydale paramedics being what they are. Although, it seemed Xander was reluctant to leave as he was still milking his heroic rescue in the eyes of Cordelia Chase. Giles was only too happy to give the mortals a ride home in his Citroen as Spike and Buffy went by foot. And by happy, he only grumbled a little before acquiescing.

It was a nice night, he thought, even with the violent death still lingering in the air. The stars shone brightly in the sky, but not enough to make him into a big pile of dust. He had his best friend by his side, although she seemed a bit withdrawn. There wasn't even the slightest indication that Angel was stalking them, as he sometimes did… but thought Spike didn't notice. It was enough to make him whistle a jaunty tune. Which caused Buffy to look at him with amusement. "So the Frankenstein's monster was lonely… who would've guessed?"

"You're going to say you." Buffy elbowed him playfully and he grabbed that same elbow, and spun her around in the street.

"Know me so well, do you?" Spike's demon face came out as he felt her fire warmed skin under his fingers. Almost alive. If any two words described Buffy Summers, those might very well be it. Either that or Brassed Off.

She laughed, taking no notice by now that his face had even changed. "Better than myself. I still don't understand how I ever thought I could leave you to your own devices. That's always a recipe for trouble."

"What can I say, Baby, I've always been bad." Spike boasted, although they were both well aware of the truth,

"Bad at wooing, maybe." Buffy spun away from him and into the cemetery. A quick sweep couldn't hurt.

Spike prowled after her, his senses completely focused on her. So much so that he missed the very open grave, and fell right in it. "Bloody Hell!"

"Just when you thought you were being cool," Buffy taunted, hand already reaching down to pull him up. He took her help while cursing at all and sundry about leaving holes in the ground where anyone could fall in. She laughed at him, and that eased his foul mood considerably just to see her eyes sparkling. He was a complete and total ponce when it came to her. He pinned her to the ground after he was clear of the hole.

"Never cared much for being cool, anyway… not when I can make you burn for me." He turned the tables and relished the flicker of desire cross her face. Before a twinge of sadness took it's place.

"Maybe passion that hot is too dangerous… it nearly killed Cordelia tonight… and did kill that… that person." Buffy sighed, eyes unfocused for all the wrong reason. "I don't even know his name."

"Does it matter? He died because of his own actions… don't turn this into another one of your martyr tantrums." Spike began somewhat harshly, "He was going to decapitate Cordelia for selfish reasons… it's incomparable to anything like real love. Passionate or not."

Spike loved Buffy indisputably, but they had a tendency to completely understand one another one second… and then misinterpret every word of the next. Not to mention they often had an uncanny knack for pushing the others buttons. But, in all the time since he had offered to let her kill him, she had never even tried. Likewise… he never tried to kill humans anymore. In some ways, that was the greatest declaration of love the two cagey blondes could dare to make. "People die, Buffy. We know that better than most…"


End file.
